Glazer Children's Museum sets torrid pace for attendance

That giggly sound you've been hearing along Tampa's downtown waterfront is the noise of more than 200,000 people visiting the Glazer Children's Museum within its first nine months.

Museum officials announced in a news release Thursday that the museum had met its first-year attendance goal even before its final fiscal quarter is complete.

President and chief executive Al Najjar reported that 200,662 people have visited the museum since opening its doors on Sept. 25. The museum had projected 200,000 for the year.

The numbers are expected to grow throughout the summer as kids and adults make it a must-stop on their summer itinerary.

"We could host as many as 250,000 total attendees before we complete our first operating year," Najjar said. "The reception by families of the Tampa Bay area and beyond has been remarkable, and we are grateful for the way the community has embraced the museum as a family and educational resource."

Roughly 50 percent of overall attendance has originated from Hillsborough County, 30 percent from outside the Tampa Bay area and 20 percent from the six surrounding counties.

To date, the Glazer Children's Museum has sold more than 6,000 memberships.